Giggle, Giggle, Giggle~

I always wondered where HGTV designers would put the fan! I have to have a fan!
At the first of each second grade year, I took the little girls into the bathroom and taught them how to flush using a foot and how to open a door without touching where everyone else has. Be careful your foot doesn't slip, and use a sweater, dress, or sleeve to open a door.
And really young ladies? Dress so that you leave some mystery. Don't show it all. Especially when the majority of us don't want to see it. Oh, and those 'duck lip' poses. There's so blase.
I don't know about you, but I've so thought of some snappy comeback to 'order' boards at fast foods. I'm not naturally a sarcastic person, but I do love laughing at the silly, crazy things humans do. Myself included! Hope you're having a giggly kind of day. If not, go find something to laugh about! I'm sure you need it.

I Love the SEC!

SEC. A great football nation.
I'm a solid SEC girl.
I love the Tennessee Vols.
But NEVER, EVER as much
as I love THE TIDE!
And I have to say, with a smile,
I want a shutout tonight!
Roll, Tide, Roll!
 
 

Deborah's Gift ~

I have a dear friend, Deborah, and she knows how much I love food. Especially bread pudding. We decided to get together for a meal over at her house recently and she surprised me with this delicacy. Oh.my. It is almost, if not as good, as Elli Bistro's daily bread pudding. I say daily, for they change their recipe on a daily basis. I've never gone there that I didn't swoon at the first bite. You might get a fudge laden bread pudding or a fruit filled bread pudding or a white chocolate bread pudding. I never thought I'd like fruit IN mine until I had theirs. NOW, if it's a day when the waiter (we like Nemo) tells us that there will be raisins in it, I go home without dessert. Do NOT destroy my BP with raisins.
 
I mentioned this on my blog, "Losing Forty" and had several comments on Facebook for the recipe. Deborah made it that one time and gave me the recipe. I think she got it from a Kraft site and I think she made hers with French bread cubes instead of white bread. (She's like that. French toast at her house is made with real French toast and another friend and I always fight over who gets the last piece! It's that good. Having thick toast just soaks up that custard mixture so much better than my typical slap a piece of white bread back and front in a milk/egg mixture and fry til browned. No, no, no.  Deborah bakes hers. I think. I don't remember hers ever having an eggy edge like mine.)
 
Head over to my other blog (that I am NOT being faithful with and losing weight!) and get this recipe! It's even good cold.
If you're ever in Gulf Shores, go to Pelican Place on Hwy 59. Elli Bistro's on the corner facing the theatres. You won't be sorry. Lunch menus are SO much cheaper than dinner, but you'll find that a common thing in the majority of the eateries here. Ginny Lane at The Wharf? You can choose between 8 meals for $8, includes drink, OR choose from their 5 meals for $5.95, you buy your drink. Or drink free water! Since this is a sister company to EB's you can get the bread pudding! Ginny Lane's only has the white chocolate every day and it's $6, with a size that would easily feed four. There's also seating outside on pretty days. The ambiance is casually different than Elli's but they treat you the same at Elli's and you go away happy.
My favorite dish at both places?! The blackened tilapia with rice, string beans and a light white sauce of some sort over it. I never grow tired of it. Never. John chooses something different each time and he's never complained. Which says something about EB and GL. When you go, tell me what you like best!
Being retired and living here, it's great to have an awesome lunch at less than fast food prices and be full enough that you only want a bowl of cereal for dinner. I'm learning things from the snowbirds! There are a few that don't. Unless they've changed recently, The Original Oyster House doesn't have a lunch menu nor does Tacky Jack's or Lulu's. There's always hope they'll get one or have one already!
 
PS ~ For those of you that love Tacky Jack's? Head down Ft. Morgan Road until you get almost to the end. You'll see a small marina and what my daughters would call 'a dive'. It's one of the original Tacky Jack's and you'll see sights like this. Why? Because it sits on the bay. Not a canal. Of course, it's quieter, laid back, no loud music, but the food is the same. Might not have as many choices, but it's our personal favorite. Just sayin'

I Love Fall ~

I love Fall. And Winter. Always have. Always will.
You can have your Summer!
Back to the subject {grin font}
Look how easy-peasy this idea is!
Three items from the grocery store!
One hurricane!
A bit of twine & a candle (on sale, of course)
Yeah, I'm doing this next week. 
This grabbed my heartstrings. Hard.
I want to do this SO badly.
Just not sure I can recreate it.
I'm not that good with floral items.
I try. And I fool some of the people.
But not all of them.
I have the urn already.
Walmart and Target have the fake pumpkins.
I have the gold paint. And stencil!
Need a bit more silk stuff.
Okay, so I'll try this AND
let you know how it goes.
{crossmyfingers font} 
I'm writing while watching the Tide and Mizzou.
That's hard. I love the Crimson Tide. Okay,
I love everything about this.
So much so, that at 2 am I was up
 painting a primer on a lamp that was too gold.
I have all the elements EXCEPT a husk wreath.
Maybe Old Time Pottery will?
I can pick up an old frame
at the many flea markets here.
The ribbon is easy to find now.
As is the iron piece.
So, IF I can find a wreath of husk,
I'll do this project as well.
Stay tuned!
{Photos from Pinterest}

Bits & Pieces of Today

We got this today and I smiled.
Sweet Alaina dressed for Farm Day.
I remember the day she was born.
Our first granddaughter.
That feeling still has my heart. 
The I clicked over to Jen's page and saw this.
My heart won't accept it! They're grown up!
We were there for their births, &
for a time Noah had the most beautiful curls.
He still does, but they are shorter and he's taller!
I know our children grow up & that grabs the heart.
When grandchildren begin growing up, hold on.
Your heartstrings aren't going to want to let go.
 
 *  * * * * * * * * *
And for something totally different. The debate.
Last night between the VP's.
First, Biden acted rude and disrespectful, then
I was appalled, shocked, and felt that the mediator
appeared to break every rule she was to abide by.
 
Then I read this, posted by a student I still love,
Mandie Granger Barrett. And I love her for it.
 
"When a wise man argues with a foolish man,
the fool only gets angry or laughs,
and there is no peace and quiet."
Proverbs 29:9 NLV

Things I'm Learning As I Age

There are more lines. Everywhere, not just on the face. My arms and legs have wrinkles! The ones around the eyes don't bother me. My fairy child said they're smile lines.
 
You don't have to shave your legs as often. And the hair is softer. However, the hair on your head is thinner. And if you're born with thin hair as I, it just gets thinner and you learn that vanity is not important anymore. You smile.
 
The area under your upper arms? It likes to swing. All by itself. I try to keep my arms close to my body. I do weights but they just still swing. There again. Vanity just smiles and says, 'Hey! We're closer to perfection!' See, in Heaven, we'll be perfect. Young and energetic. Like we once were when we were running around trying  to do too much in too little time, wearing ourselves out. 
You realize that your children have families of their own and you aren't in the middle of that life. You were part of your life when your babies  were younger. That's where memories bring smiles to the face and warmth to the heart. When you pull out photos and remember 'the day'. And that's okay.
 
I miss having thicker hair. I do. I don't like having three chins even though my weight hasn't changed but a few pounds since the last year I taught ~ 2006. I only had one chin. Not sure where these other two are from. Jabba the Hut, maybe? Which makes me understand why women get face lifts. I don't want bigger boobs or Botox, or even white teeth that would shine in the dark. I'd like a chin lift {big smile font}.
 
And then I think, I'm made by Him! In His image. By His design. He didn't put the extra pounds on me. They could come off if I would eat better and be diligent about an exercise program. My friends didn't exercise. My mom didn't. So I never made the time. Running around with a career and a family was exercise. As I grew older, I didn't make it a priority. And I should have. I still can. I'm just a bit lazy. Yeah, I'm honest, too.
 
You're never too old to make dreams come true. Any dream! If you want it bad enough, you're never too old. Just watch us. We have dreams for the next few years that will take us across the Nation, to places we've spoken of for years now. We look forward to getting up, packing a bag, grabbing the Atlas and just driving off. Deciding where we want to go as we go.
 
Aging? I've always thought Katie Holmes as pretty. Prettier now than when she was Katie Cruise. Look how someone has digitally aged her. 
Thinner hair and look at her chins. I don't feel so bad now. Those high cheeks? They don't stay high. Things begin to droop. They're tired, I guess. Other things droop too.
 
One day. One day, we'll be as new. No tears, no pain, no fears, no sickness. We're only a breath away from His Heaven. Each day I live I want to fulfill His plan for me; to share Him; and to breathe deeply knowing that what's ahead is what I've been waiting for all my life. To go back to the bosom,
to the hands that shaped and formed me. That loved me before I was conceived in the womb.
 
I've learned that aging happens. Time stops for no one. The mistakes, the pain, the hurts, have shaped the person I am. The people that hurt me? They made me stronger. I am liking this person, this older Nancy. She still laughs. She still loves and is loved. And she gets to spend her time with Christian friends of her choosing and a life with the love of her heart. She has beautiful sons in love. Six precious grandbabies to love, and to be loved by. And the same man has loved her for longer than anyone else. There's a closeness, a bond, a deeper love.
 
What I'm learning? That you may as well make up your mind it's going to happen. Set up an exercise program now. Begin eating healthy now. Don't overprocess your hair nor tan and burn your skin. Walk slower. Breathe deeper. Laugh as much as possible. Praise your children. Love your man. Take photographs. Keep a journal. And love yourself. Like yourself. He does.
And have a week filled with blessings ~

Have Pine Cones?

I'll admit these came from Pinterest. If one of these is your photograph, please don't be upset. Leave me a comment and I'll edit, giving you the credit! Pinterest makes it easy to pin a photo without clicking to to see if there's actually a recipe with that yummy brownie recipe. So, let's proceed!
Our yard has pine trees. Which means there are cones. Bugs like pine trees, so I purchase bags of pine cones at Hobby Lobby, already cleaned and bug free. However, you can wash and dry them.
 
Not long ago I was invited to join Pinterest. Oh.my.pine.cones. There are oodles of ways to decorate with these aggravating-to-those-who-have-to-pick-them-up thingies! Spring and Summer seem to be cone-less ~ BUT I bet someone will come up with an idea! And I'll pin it!
 
Enjoy the photographs and here's hoping you gather some ideas to use for your Fall decor!
and lastly, a topiary~(LOVE those bitty ones!)
To you and yours, Happy Fall Y'all!

~ from The Letter Writer ~

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